LANSING, Mich., January 20, 2017 – Early Saturday, over 82,000 Michigan children lost their healthcare when Senator Debbie Stabenow refused to support a compromise spending bill which would have kept the federal government open until February 16. In addition to keeping the government operating, the bill included a six-year extension to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) which provides healthcare for children whose families make less than double the federal poverty level. The procedural vote on the bill received a majority in the U.S. Senate, but Democrats chose party politics and obstruction over people and the bill did not reach the 60 votes needed to go to a final vote.

“Today Senator Stabenow sided with partisan politics over the people of Michigan and over 82,000 of Michigan’s neediest children are going to pay the price,” said Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser. He continued “Senator Stabenow is yet again showing the people of Michigan why it’s time for her to leave Washington. Whether it be funding our government, providing needy children with healthcare, or giving Michigan families a badly needed tax cut, Senator Stabenow has stood with her party instead of her state at every turn.”

In 2013, Senator Stabenow was singing a different tune and was highly critical of shutting down the government due to partisan fighting. In an October 2013 press release, Stabenow stated that some members of the Republican caucus needed to “start working across the aisle…not hurt our economy and shut down the government when they can't get what they want through the democratic process.” As recently as December, Senator Stabenow said that not funding CHIP was “unacceptable.”

“The amount of Senator Stabenow’s hypocrisy in regard to shutting down the Government and funding the CHIP program could fill the Great Lakes,” Michigan Republican Party Deputy Chief of Staff Sarah Anderson commented. “Today, the Senator voted against the people of Michigan, and against her own principles, all to participate in a partisan political stunt.”

During the government shutdown, vital Federal services such as defense will continue, and Republicans have pledged to work around the clock to end this partisan-fueled crisis.